Auctions Review – is Now a Good Time to Buy?

Peter Hemple talks to auctioneers around the country

SDL Auctions has been regularly holding property auctions in cities like Leicester, Nottingham and Derby for more than 10 years. In mid-April it reported that after a busy week of auctions, it had raised more than £8.8m under the hammer for properties ranging from garages to large apartment blocks – and everything in between. The company says that refurbishment properties are currently attracting a great deal of attention at auction. Below are some examples of what people are buying at auction in these cities at the moment.

In Leicester, a spacious 4-bed town house, sold for £124,000 from a guide price of £100,000, while a 3-bed semi on a large plot, sold for £148,000 from a guide price of £120,000+. It was a similar story in Nottingham, where a traditional bay-fronted 3-bed semi-detached requiring improvements, sold for £185,000 from a guide price of £150,000+ and a terraced house in Mansfield, sold for £54,000 from a guide price of £50,000+.

In Derby, a refurbishment property lived up to expectations after receiving more viewings than any other lot in the auction. The 3-bed semi-detached house with a large garden had a guide price of £45,000+ and sold for £124,000.

Some of the larger refurbishment properties were sold in Derby too, including a two-storey former Baptist Church, which sold for £107,000 from a guide price of £55,000+ and a former farmhouse in Breedon on the Hill ended the auction with a bang selling for £410,000 from a guide price of £225,000+.

Also in Derby, a 6-bed House in Multiple Occupation sold for £180,000 from a guide price of £165,000+. When fully let the HMO produces an annual rental income of £27,000 (15% gross yield) and includes land to the rear suitable for development.

There were commercial and development opportunities to be had too, including plots of land, retail units and, in Leicester, a block of 12 lock-up garages, which proved extremely popular, selling for £160,500 from a guide price of £45,000+.